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Charles Kelley and his wife, Cassie Kelley, opened up about the country artist’s road to recovery from alcohol use after he revealed that he would begin his journey to sobriety several months ago. The couple sat down with Gayle King for an interview that aired on CBS Mornings on Wednesday (May 10).
Kelley opened up about the moments his Lady A bandmates — Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — and his wife spoke with him on different occasions about his drinking, including admitting that they were “worried” about him and that his 7-year-old son was picking up on some of Kelley’s behavior because of alcohol. The Lady A singer admitted that it “crushed me” to know that his son, Ward, observed things like, “Daddy’s talking a little funny,” Kelley said his wife told him.
Kelley told King that, after spending about a month at a rehabilitation facility, implementing tools like group meetings has helped him stay on track. Cassie admitted that she was “shocked” to learn that would be important for her to put in a lot of work, too; however, she said thinking about her son helped motivate her to move forward
“I’m really proud of him,” Cassie said during a heartfelt moment in the interview. “It’s not easy to walk through. And it’s not easy to, you know, stay connected and to just put your head down and do the work because it is a lot of work. And, you know, because he keeps showing up every day, I get to keep showing up every day, and our family gets to be intact so I’m really, really proud of him.”
“I couldn’t do it without her support,” Kelley said. “I do feel a lot of love.”
Kelley said as he shared the interview clip on his Instagram story on Wednesday that he’s “still healing,” but appreciates the opportunity to “share this personal journey for those that may be experiencing similar matters.”
Lady A announced in August 2022 that they would postpone their “Request Line Tour” to support Kelley in his “journey to sobriety.” The trio has since started touring again — with no alcohol on the tour bus, on the road or in the hotels, King noted, adding that Kelley “doesn’t want people to feel weird drinking around him,” as long as they’re drinking responsibly — after kicking off “Request Line” shows last month with back-to-back nights at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I wanna thank all the fans who understood when I needed to take some time off to work on myself and push back the tour,” Kelley wrote in a thankful Instagram caption as he got ready for the tour to begin. “I can say for certain that the show we have been able to create is the most personal and thorough show we’ve ever had in our 17 year career. I hope you all can come and share a moment with us on the road this year. Much love to [Dave Haywood] and [Hillary Scott] and all the band and crew and team and family that helped get me to this point. Feeling beyond grateful!”
Kelley has also been playing “As Far As You Could” for audiences worldwide. The song served as a “goodbye letter to alcohol” on his journey to sobriety. He recently released a video showing how the song has resonated with crowds.
Cassie shared a few photos on Instagram on Wednesday as she shared that she and her husband spoke with King a few weeks ago “about what family recovery looks like from the disease of alcoholism. I know for me, getting help from all of the tools and groups (some of which i didn’t know existed 11 months ago!) has been truly life changing and life GIVING. Addiction is not easy to navigate - in fact it is very difficult to recover alone. It takes a community and every member of the family system moving toward healing, one day at a time.
“If you are struggling through this journey, YOU are not alone, and there is hope,” she continued. “We are still so early in our recovery and beyond grateful for everyone who has walked along side us (and carried us in many instances) taking tiny steps in the right direction. …As a friend told me ‘Shame cannot survive being spoken’ and the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it’s connection. 🙏🏻💖”
CBS Mornings noted that if any viewer or their loved ones are experiencing problems with alcohol, help is available by reaching the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP. Watch Kelley’s interview here: